Car coupler

ABSTRACT

In a railway car coupler of the knuckle type which embodies means for automatic unlocking and opening of the knuckle during an uncoupling operation, a spring assembly is provided for actuating the knuckle unlocking and opening means. The spring assembly is applied to and removed from the coupler as a unit with the use of a simple tool such as a pry bar.

United States Patent 1191 DePenti 1 51 Feb. 20, 1973 [5 CAR COUPLER1,692,281 11/1928 Speer ..213 1 16 [75] Inventor: Ke neth L. ePe M yfie2,504,889 4/1950 Srsson ..267/4 Heights, Ohio Primary Examiner-DraytonE. Hoffman 7 A M dl d-R C to Cl 3] sslgnee fg orpom I eve AttorneyHenryKozak and Woodrow W. Portz 22 Filed: Feb. 17, 1971 57 ABS RACT [21]Appl. No.: 116,148 1 T I [n a railway car coupler of the knuckle typewhich em- [52] US. Cl ..213/110, 213/116 bodies means for automaticunlocking and opening of [5 II.-

the knuckle during an uncoupling operation a ring [58] held of Search"213/110, 201211 116; assembly is provided for actuating the knuckle un-267/70 179 locking and opening means. The spring assembly is applied toand removed from the coupler as a unit with [56] References cued the useof a simple tool such as a pry bar.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,549,022 [2/1970 Metzger ..2l3/l l0 '7 Claims, 12Drawing Figures SHEET 10F 3 PATENTEU FEB2 0 I975 [N VENTOR. [fill/67H LDIPEWI/ PATENTED F5520 1973 SHEET 30F 3 INVENTOR. v Kf/INUHLDcP'A/T/ CARCOUPLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a knuckle type car coupler inwhich the knuckle automatically opens during intentional uncoupling ofcoupled couplers, energized means in the form of a spring has beenemployed to effect such knuckle opening. A car coupler of this type isdisclosed in W.J. Metzger U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,022, issued Dec. 22, I970.In this patent coil spring means is provided in the coupler foractuating the knuckle unlocking and opening means. However, the springmeans and associated spring seats are somewhat difficult to apply andremove from the coupler. Hence the present invention was evolved toprovide a spring guide assembly for an automatic coupler of the typedisclosed in the aforementioned patent which is readily applied to orremoved from the coupler.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide ina railway knuckle coupler embodying means for automatically unlockingand opening the knuckle thereof of an improved spring guide' assemblyfor actuating the said means, which assembly is readily and safelyapplied to and removed from its operative position in the coupler.Another object is to provide a unitary spring guide assembly which iseasily applied to and removed from the coupler as a unit. A furtherobject is to provide a unitary spring guide assembly having a pair ofspring seat members, one of which has a longitudinal guide stem whichslidably extends through the other spring seat member.

The invention as applied to a knuckle-type railway car coupler havingspring-actuated means for automatically unlocking and opening theknuckle comprises spring means reacting between a pair of pivotallymounted spring seat members disposed longitudinally of the coupler. Theforward spring seat member is pivotally mounted in the coupler head by apair of integral horizontal trunnions. The rearward spring seat memberis pivotally mounted relative to a lever member in the coupler by a pairof integral horizontal trunnions which are received in bearing portionsin the lever. The forward spring seat member has a longitudinal guidestem passing through a central opening in the spring and slidablyextending through an opening in the rearward spring seat. The portion ofthe stem which projects rearwardly of the rearward spring seat member isprovided with a transverse opening for receiving a pin for holding thespring in predetermined compressed condition between the seat members.The unit may thenbe readily removed from the coupler through an openingin the underside of the coupler body by manually disengaging thetrunnions of the rearward seat member from the lever member and loweringthat end of the unit, after which the trunnions of the forward seatmember are disengaged from their mountings in the coupler head.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view in horizontalsection of a car coupler embodying the invention and showing the knucklein open position.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the coupler of FIG. 1, showingthe coupler parts corresponding to, the fully open position of theknuckle.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the spring guide assembly embodyingthe invention.

FIG. 5 shows side and top details of the spring seat lever member thatis actuated by the spring guide assembly.

FIG. 6 shows end, top and side details of the forward spring seatmember.

FIG. 7 shows end and side details of the rearward spring seat member.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevational view, partly in section, showingthe spring guide assembly and associated parts in the same position asin FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along line 9-9 onFIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along line 10-10on FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the method of compressingthe spring prior to removal of the spring guide assembly from thecoupler.

FIG. 12 is a view showing another step in removal of the spring guideassembly from the coupler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2' and 3 of thedrawing, there is shown an Association of American Railroads (A.A.R.)Standard E coupler incorporating means for automatic unlocking andopening of its knuckle. The coupler head 10 has a knuckle 12 pivotedthereto about a vertical pivot pin 14. The knuckle 12 in each of theseviews is shown in fully opened position, to which it is automaticallyswung after an uncoupling operation. The coupler has a lock 16 which isshown raised to outof-locking position in the upper end of the lockchamber 18 in the head 10, in which position it is held by the automaticknuckle opening means. Operatively connected to the lower end of lockleg 16a is the lock lifter link 20, the upper end of which has atrunnion 22 received in slot 24 in the leg. In the raised position ofthe lock, trunnion 22 bears against the upper end of slot 24. The lowerend of link 20 is pivotally connected to the forward element 26a of thearticulated rotor lever 26 as at 28. A rearward element 26b of lever 26has a hook-shaped portion 260 pivotally mounted on trunnion 30 of thecoupler head. Elements 26a and 26b of the rotor lever are pivotallyjoined together by a pin or rivet 32 and rotate as a unit about trunnion30 upon engagement of lug 27 on element 26a with the opposing surface ofelement 26b-during manual actuation of the lever by the usual uncouplingrod, the U-shaped end 34 of which is operatively connected to forwardelement 26a.

With the coupler knuckle closed and the lock in lowered locking relationwith the knuckle, clockwise rotation of rotor lever 26, as viewed inFIG. 2, by manual actuation of the uncoupling rod, raises lock 16 to theposition as shown. During such movement of the lock the rearward side oflock leg 16a is urged rearwardly against arm 36a of the knuckle thrower36 causing the thrower to pivot Pivotal movement of the thrower resultsin its arm 36b urging the knuckle to open position. It will beunderstood that the above described manual knuckle opening operationapplies to an existing AAR Standard E coupler which is in freecondition, i.e., not in coupled relation with another coupler.

As aforementioned, the present invention concerns a coupler of theautomatic knuckle opening type as shown in WJ. Metzger U.S. Pat. No.3,549,022, and comprises an improved spring guide assembly which hasbeen applied thereto. Briefly the automatic unlocking and opening of theknuckle 12 is achieved through the actuation of rotor lever 26 by meansof a depending arm 40a on an inner lever 40 which is keyed to atransverse horizontal shaft 42 pivotally supported in the coupler head10. The lower end of arm 40a is adapted for camming engagement with anupstanding cam arm 44 integral with element 26a and disposed abovetrunnion 30. The base of arm 44 is formed with curved bearing portion 45for engagement with trunnion 30 to provide support for the rotor leverwhen it is actuated through arm 44. Rotation of shaft 42 in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, to effect engagement ofarm 40a with cam arm 44 is obtained by means of spring guide assembly 50disposed in outer chamber 46 in the lower end of guard arm a. Chamber 46is open at its lower end to permit easy application and removal of thespring guide assembly as will be hereinafter described.

The spring guide assembly 50 comprises a forward spring seat member 52,a rearward spring seat member 54, and spring means 56 in the form ofinner and outer coil springs reacting against the seat members. Forwardseat member 52 is pivotally mounted in the coupler head by means of apair of horizontal trunnions 52a which are supported in spaced U-shapedbearing portions 58 in the coupler head. Positioned at right angles totrunnions 52a is the spring engaging portion 52b. Thus trunnions 52aextend from opposite sides of portion 52b. Rearward seat member 54 alsohas a pair of horizontal trunnions 540 which are pivotally supported inU-shaped bearing portions 60a in the bifurcated lower end of spring seatlever 60 which is secured to shaft 42. Lever 60 has a square-shapedopening 60b through its hub for receiving the correspondingly shapedshaft 42, thereby to key the lever to the shaft. Trunnions 54a extendlaterally from the sides of spring engaging portion 54b which isdisposed at right angles to the trunnions.

Forward seat member 52 is provided with a longitudinally extending shaftor stem 520 which extends through a central opening 540 in rearward seatmember 54 and projects rearwardly of the latter as at e. Stern 52c is inslidable relationship with member 54 and assures that the ends of spring56 willremain in place against their respective seats and that thespring will compress and expand without bowing or distorting durin goperation of the mechanism.

The mechanism is so arranged that spring 56 is at all times undercompression from knuckle closed to knuckle open position. Spring 56 iscompressed the maximum amount when the knuckle is in closed position sothat the greatest force of the spring is available for actuation of themechanism to open the knuckle. In this connection a horizontallyreciprocating plunger 64 shown in FIG. 1 is operatively connected to anupper arm 40b on inner lever 40 and has a forward end 64b which extendsforwardly of the coupler face when the knuckle is open. When the coupleris being coupled with a mating coupler, the knuckle of the matingcoupler will force plunger 64 rearwardly, thereby pivoting arm 40brearwardly and causing shaft 42 to rotate clockwise, as viewed in FIG.3. Clockwise rotation of shaft 42 will swing spring seat lever 60forwardly to compress spring 56 between seat members 52 and 54. Duringan uncoupling operation, the expansive force of the spring bears againstlever 60 to rotate shaft 42 counterclockwise, thereby causing arm 40a toengage cam arm 44 and effect rotation of rotor lever in a clockwisedirection to unlock and open the knuckle.

It should be pointed out that a coupler embodying automatic knuckleopening means will always haveits knuckle open when the coupler is infree condition.

However, when two such couplers are in coupled relationship, theautomatic knuckle opening means in each coupler is immobilized by theplunger 64 which has been forced rearwardly into the coupler by theknuckle of the opposing coupler. When it is desired to uncouple twocoupled couplers, the usual procedure is for a trainman to lock-set oneof the couplers. This operation involves unlocking the knuckle and isaccomplished through manual actuation of the uncoupling rod to raise thelock to its raised or lock-set position relative to the knuckle.Thereafter, as pulling forces are applied to the couplers and they startto move apart, the unlocked knuckle is pulled toward open position bythe opposing closed knuckle, and as this occurs the plunger in theopposing coupler will begin to move forward. After the plunger has movedforward a sufficient amount, the automatic knuckle opening means inresponse to spring 56 becomes operative. Thus, as the couplers continueto separate, the automatic means will open the knuckle that was notmanually unlocked by the trainman. Upon completion of the uncouplingoperation, both knuckles will have been opened.

In view of the substantial spring force that is needed to effectunlocking and opening of the knuckle, it is essential that an an easy aswell as safe method of applying and removing the spring 56 and seatmembers 52 and 54 to the coupler be provided. Referring now particularlyto FIGS. 8, 11 and 12, the procedure for removal of the spring guideassembly will be described. In FIG. 8 which shows the position of theparts cor responding to knuckle open position, a simple rod such as apry bar 66 is inserted into the eye opening 68 in forward element 26a ofthe rotor lever 26 as shown. Bar 66 is positioned between the uncouplingrod 34 and forward upper edge 70 of opening 68 and is then forcedrearwardly to rotate rotor lever in a counterclockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 8. This causes cam arm 44 to swing forwardly against arm40a of lever 40 and rotate shaft 42 clockwise, thereby urging springseat lever 60 and seat member 54 forwardly to compress spring 56. Thecompression of spring 56 by this method is continued until a transversehole 52d in stem 52c is exposed rearwardly of seat 52, after which acotter or pin 72 is inserted into the opening. The force against the prybar is released and the spring is held under predetermined compressionby pin 72 in contact with seat member 54, as seen in FIGS. 11, 12 and 4.Next spring seat lever 60 may be swung rearwardly by hand sufficientlyto disengage trunnions 540 from bearings 60a, permitting the rearwardend of the spring assembly to swing downwards, as shown in FIG. 12.Thereafter, trunnions 52a on the forward seat member 52 may be readilydisengaged from bearings 58 in the coupler head through slight rearwardmovement and the entire spring guide assembly is free of the coupler.Application of the spring guide assembly is performed by reversing thepreceding steps used in removing the assembly.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler of the pivoted knuckle type having mechanism thereinoperative for automatically unlocking and opening the knuckle thereofand lever means for actuating said mechanism, a spring guide assemblyfor actuating said lever, said assembly comprising a forward spring seatmember pivotally mounted in the coupler head, a rearward spring seatmember pivotally engaging said lever means, each of said members havinga pair of horizontal trunnions for pivotal mounting of the member,U-shaped bearing portions in said head for pivotally supporting saidtrunnions, and spring means reacting between said seat members, saidforward seat member having a longitudinal guide stem extending through alongitudinal opening in said rearward seat member.

2. A car coupler according to claim 1 in which each seat member has aspring engaging portion disposed between said trunnions.

3. A car coupler according to claim 1 in which said lever member has abifurcated end containing said U- shaped bearing portions for supportingthe trunnions of said rearward seat member.

4. A car coupler according to claim 1 in which said stem has atransverse opening therethrough for receiving stop means for engagementwith said rearward seat member for holding said spring underpredetermined compression during removal of said assembly from thecoupler.

5. In combination with a spring guide assembly for application to a carcoupler of the knuckle type a lever member adapted for pivotal mountingin the coupler head, said member having a bifurcated end formed withU-shaped bearing portions, said assembly comprising a first spring seatmember having a pair of integral trunnions at its sides for pivotallymounting said seat member in the coupler head, a second spring seatmember having a pair of integral trunnions at its sides for mounting insaid bearing portions, and spring means compressible between said seatmembers, said first seat member having a longitudinal guide stemextending through a longitudinal central opening in said second seatmember.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which each spring seatmember has a spring seat disposed entirely between said trunnions.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which said stem has atransverse opening for receiving a pin for engaging the outer end ofsaid second seat member to maintain the spring under predeterminedcompression for assembly and di sass embly purposes.

1. In a car coupler of the pivoted knuckle type having mechanism thereinoperative for automatically unlocking and opening the knuckle thereofand lever means for actuating said mechanism, a spring guide assemblyfor actuating said lever, said assembly comprising a forward spring seatmember pivotally mounted in the coupler head, a rearward spring seatmember pivotally engaging said lever means, each of said members havinga pair of horizontal trunnions for pivotal mounting of the member,U-shaped bearing portions in said head for pivotally supporting saidtrunnions, and spring means reacting between said seat members, saidforward seat member having a longitudinal guide stem extending through alongitudinal opening in said rearward seat member.
 1. In a car couplerof the pivoted knuckle type having mechanism therein operative forautomatically unlocking and opening the knuckle thereof and lever meansfor actuating said mechanism, a spring guide assembly for actuating saidlever, said assembly comprising a forward spring seat member pivotallymounted in the coupler head, a rearward spring seat member pivotallyengaging said lever means, each of said members having a pair ofhorizontal trunnions for pivotal mounting of the member, U-shapedbearing portions in said head for pivotally supporting said trunnions,and spring means reacting between said seat members, said forward seatmember having a longitudinal guide stem extending through a longitudinalopening in said rearward seat member.
 2. A car coupler according toclaim 1 in which each seat member has a spring engaging portion disposedbetween said trunnions.
 3. A car coupler according to claim 1 in whichsaid lever member has a bifurcated end containing said U-shaped bearingportions for supporting the trunnions of said rearward seat member.
 4. Acar coupler according to claim 1 in which said stem has a transverseopening therethrough for receiving stop means for engagement with saidrearward seat member for holding said spring under predeterminedcompression during removal of said assEmbly from the coupler.
 5. Incombination with a spring guide assembly for application to a carcoupler of the knuckle type a lever member adapted for pivotal mountingin the coupler head, said member having a bifurcated end formed withU-shaped bearing portions, said assembly comprising a first spring seatmember having a pair of integral trunnions at its sides for pivotallymounting said seat member in the coupler head, a second spring seatmember having a pair of integral trunnions at its sides for mounting insaid bearing portions, and spring means compressible between said seatmembers, said first seat member having a longitudinal guide stemextending through a longitudinal central opening in said second seatmember.
 6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which each springseat member has a spring seat disposed entirely between said trunnions.